USA, several locations
Epic Games
“Senior Technical Artist” for Fortnite events103 and “Lead Technical Artist” for a project with Disney104.
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Career 5 of 8 · Example Epic Games
Technical artist: connecting art and technology in game engines
As a technical artist you connect design and technology: you build materials, light and effects in game engines such as Unreal and make sure beautiful worlds also run smoothly. Epic Games pays a base salary of $151,585 to $252,641 a year for a senior position in New York103. In Austria, the role is rarely advertised23.
Unreal Engine 5Required: showreel
Free, no sign-up, every detail with a source.
01 · What you do
6 tasks from the adverts by Epic Games
- Materials: designing surfaces for landscapes and environments103.
- Light and mood: lighting for whole worlds, clouds, atmosphere and water103.
- Realising styles: different visual styles, especially stylised ones, in high quality103.
- Explaining: documenting tools and showing the team how to use them104.
Requirements
A strong showreel or portfolio with shipped game art, knowledge of physically based materials (PBR), experience with Substance Designer and Unreal Engine 5, plus some scripting, for example with Blueprints103.
Unreal Engine 5Substance DesignerMaterialsLightingBlueprints
02 · Who is hiring
Who is looking for technical artists: Epic and Riot, rarely in Austria
Singapore and Los Angeles
Riot Games
“Rendering Technical Artist II” for League of Legends, plus positions in effects and animation105,106,107.
Austria, adverts expired
Fronius, IGT, MERKUR.COM
Graz €3,024 to €3,819 a month, Premstätten from €42,000 a year, Vienna from €3,175 a month. On 4 October 2026 no advert was active23.
03 · Applying
What convinces: a showreel that shows effect and construction
- Showreel: a compilation of finished game art. Epic explicitly asks for one103. Show the result and, beneath it, how it is built.
- Before and after: a scene you made run more smoothly without it looking worse.
- A tool: a small utility or a material that helps others work faster. That is exactly what the adverts describe103.
- Art fundamentals: Epic asks for modelling, texturing and animation103; Riot asks for timing, colour, composition and readability in effects106.
Portfolio, showreel, CV and dates such as FMX in Stuttgart are on the page Applying.
04 · Pay
What you earn as a technical artist: in Austria and at large studios
| Location | Role | Amount | Type of figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Entry level under the IT collective agreement | from €3,104 a month65 | Minimum pay where this agreement applies |
| Graz | “Visual & Technical Artist – Unity” | €3,024–3,819 a month23 | Job advert, expired |
| Premstätten | “Technical Artist Unity” | from €42,000 a year23 | Job advert, expired |
| New York | “Senior Technical Artist” | $151,585–252,641 a year103 | Job advert, base salary |
| New York | “Lead Technical Artist” | $235,042–344,728 a year104 | Job advert, base salary |
US salaries are considerably higher, but living costs and health insurance are more expensive. The figures are only roughly comparable.
05 · Progression
Where technical art leads: 4 stages
Junior
Materials and lighting to a brief, learning the game engine day to day.
Technical artist
Building your own tools, connecting art and technology in the team.
Senior
Owning whole areas such as lighting or environments. Riot already asks for 4 years of experience for “Rendering Technical Artist II”105.
Lead
Leading a small team, setting tools and rules for everyone104.
06 · Outlook
Outlook: changing, rarely advertised in Austria
Large studios keep hiring: on 4 October 2026, Epic Games and Riot Games advertised technical art positions103,105. In Austria, no advert with this title was active that day, only expired ones23.
In the games industry, art and technical art in particular view the use of AI most critically: 64% consider it harmful16. What stays in demand is what takes experience: making images beautiful and fast at the same time.